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EGYPTIAN FALL - Portrait of Egypt’s young generation
Director(s):
Liv HANSSEN – Writer(s): Liv HANSSEN
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The fate of five young Egyptians filmed over five years reveals how Egypt’s young generation went from the Arab Spring - with hopes of a dream come true - to the nightmare of a ruthless dictatorship tolerated by the international community in the name of the fight against Islamist terror.
Since the accession to power of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, a leaden weight has fallen on Egypt. And it is completely ignored by worldwide public opinion. Yet this military dictatorship has indeed destroyed the dreams of revolution, the hopes of democracy, to the point that Egypt seems to suffer from amnesia and some have come to regret the regime in power before January 25, 2011.
Five years ago, the generation born and raised under Mubarak, overthrew the power in place to the chants of “More social justice, freedom, and bread for the people!”. The young people of Egypt believed in their future and in their power! After all, they represent 60% of the country’s population.
The author/director of this project has been visiting Egypt for over 20 years and was cheered to witness this revolution, this new-found freedom of speech in the street, in cafés, taxis, in the villages and on television… Just like the young Egyptians, she thought that this new generation would bring change to the country. So she decided to move to Egypt to experience this important moment from “within”, side by side with these young people who had taken their destiny into their own hands. In June 2015, though, she returned precipitously because daily life in Egypt had become increasingly stifling.
During these past years, though, she's been filming these young Egyptians from different walks of life. Among them is Ali, a student from Cairo from a cultured middle class background, who set up an association defending women’s rights. There is Hanan, a peasants’ daughter living in the Fayoum oasis, the historic stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood. And Nour, a high school student and son of a well-off family who spends his time between Europe and Egypt; or Ibrahim and Mohab, two young graffers who painted the promises and aspirations of their generation onto the walls of Cairo...
The filmmaker kept track of their activities and ordinary daily lives during the upheavals that have shaken Egypt since the revolution: the hopes of a better tomorrow, the transitory episode of the Muslim Brotherhood in power followed by the bitter awakening of a country taken over by an army with an iron fist. People being imprisoned, disappearing or dying. Not to forget the daily grind such as power cuts, fuel and gas shortages, soaring unemployment and inflation...
While sharing the daily lives and struggles of these young people, the film traces the momentous years since the revolution in an attempt to understand how Egypt’s young generation went from Spring to Fall, from dream to nightmare, from euphoria to despair…
Despite the dismay of a betrayed youth, one can sense the determination of a powerful generation who knows their day will come.